Yarn carrying device



` Dc. 8, 1942. ...L HOMMER YARN GARRYING DEVICE Filed Feb. 11, 1941 2 Sheets-She'e't I m w lai.

Dec. 8, 1942. J, HOMMER l 2,304,501

YARN CARRYING DEVICE Filed Feb.,11, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 ATT RNEY' Patented Dec. 8, 1942 YARN CARRYING DEVICE Julius Hommel', Union, N.`J., assigner to Lapin Products, Inc., New York, N. Y., 'a corporation of New York Application February 11, 1941, Serial No. 378,338

6- Claims.

I'he present invention relates to a yarn carrying device, and particularly relates to a transparent molded device formed of a synthetic plastic for carrying balls of yarn to be used in knitting.

1n hand knitting it is desirable to provide some means to hold the ball of yarn so that it will be readily available tothe knitter and so that the continued removal of yarn from the ball, particularly from the outside of the ball with resulting rolling and rocking of the ball, will not result in the yarn falling and becoming unwound, knotted or tangled.

Where the yarn is carried in a box on an adjacent table or even in an enclosure upon the floor, there is always a'long strand of the yarnv extending from theball to the, knitting needles which is liable to become tangled, knotted or caught in various objects, and which limits the movement of the knitter from place to place.

Ordinarily, it has not been readily possible for a person when walking or in going from place to place.to be able to knit from a ball of yarn.

Where handbags or similar containers are utilized, either the ball of yarn is held so loosely that too great a length of it becomes unwoun'cl and may become tangled, or snagged, or, on the otherliand, the ball is'held so tightly within a container that the yarn cannot be readily removed therefrom and the ball would not be readily turned as the yarn is Withdrawn.

It is, therefore, among theobjects of the present invention to make an improved yarn carrier of the character described which may be readily carried by and about the person and f Cl. 242-146) more detailed description is given by way of illustration andvexplanaton only, and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects of the present invention, it has been found most satisfactory to form the container of a plastic material, such as for example cellulose acetate or some other transparent or translucent synthetic resinous or plastic material, which will be light which will hold the ball of yarn and permit it to be readily turned or rotated as the yarn is withdrawn `therefrom and which at the same timer will hold the yarn with sulcient friction to prevent too great a length being inadvertently unraveled or uncoiled from the ball of yarn.

Another object is to provide a simple, inexpensive, readily manipulated and carried yarn carrier, which may receive and carry a supplyv of yarn and supply said yarn as needed to a person knitting, whether said person is standing, sitting below, it. being understood,- however, that this 5c in weight and yet sufficiently transparent to permitobservation of the ball of yarn as it is being consumed, and which at the same time will be so formed that it may be readily manipulated to enclose the ball of yarn or opened to permit insertion of a new ball of yarn.

In the preferred construction, it has been found most desirous to form a cylindrical container having a relatively nat bottom and a relatively rounded top, which container is preferably formed.

in two sections which separate along the middle of the side wall thereof and which may be readily 'closed by a bayonet connection, with assurance that such closure will not be readily disengaged by carrying of the ball of yarn.

In the preferred construction it has been found most suitable tov forma central opening in the bottom of the carrier which will tend to center the yarn directly below a much smaller opening at the top Aof the carrier through which the yarn is removed and positioned.

Around the top of the yarn carrier it has been found most suitable to form a series of openings which upon contacting with the yarn will frictionally engage the same and reduce its tendency to become too` rapidly pulled out or unwound or` unraveled from the ball. Positioned on either side of the central opening are two openings or other elements for receiving a carrier or loop member which will permit the yarn carrier to be readily placed upon the arm or over the wrist of the person who is doing the knitting;

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate one of the embodiments according to the present invention, to which the invention is by no means Fig. 4 is an enlarged inside elevational view upon the arcuate line 4--4 of Fig. 3, upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is ay fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, and upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 3,

Fig. 5a is a transverse fragmentary sectional view upon the line 5ft-5a` of Fig. 3, upon an enlarged scale as compared toFig. 3,

Fig. Gris an enlarged fragmentary perspective The bottom 38 is provided with a central opening 39, tending to center the ball of yarn and cause it to fall back into axial position from the position shown in Fig. 2.

view illustrating one of the locking lugs of the lower portion of the container or holder of Figs. 1 to 3, and

Figs. '7 to 9 are directed to a different embodiment for holding several balls of yarn, Fig. '7 being a top perspective view similar to Fig. l, Fig. 8 being a transverse sectional view upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 7 upon the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 and being similar to Fig. 2, and Fig. 9 being a transverse sectional view upon the line 9--9 of Fig. 8, similar to Fig. 3.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the upper section A and the lower section B having the locking connection C, may be formed by'molding transparent plastic material, such as cellulose acetate, a urea formaldehyde resin, a vinylite resin, an acrylic resin, etc.

The ball of yarn as illustrated at D in Fig. 2 may be placed within the enclosure formed of the upper shell A and the lower shell B, and the entire carrier may be carried bythe suspension member ,E which is designed to be fitted over the wrist.

Both shell sections A and B are provided with the cylindrical side wallsv I and with the upper wall I0 having the reinforcing ridge I2,

while the lower wall I I is provided with the reinforcing ridges |3, I4, I and ||i. The wall I0 is provided with a shoulder I1 against which a'buts the upper edge I8 of the side wall I I of the lower shell B.

Below the shoulder I1, the upper wall I0 is of the outwardly extending tapered lugs 23 on the top edge I8 of the lower wall (see particularly Fig. 6).

These tapered lugs, as best shown in Fig. 6, are provided with a relatively wide rear end 24 and a relatively narrow forward end 25 and at their top face 26 they are flushed with the upper edge I8 of the lower wall II, whileat their lower edge 21 they incline forwardly and upwardly.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the recess 2| has the side edge 28 which extends the full depth thereof, the upper top edge 29 and the short forward edge 30 which is belowl the groove or oblique slot 3| which extends upwardly away from the corner 32 of said recess 2|.

The bottom of the groove or ridge 3|, as best shown in Fig. 3, is somewhat elevated above or positioned inside of the bottom of the recess 2| and adjacent its end portion it has a ridge 33 extending across the groove or slot 3| a distance from the end of the groove 34 approximately equal to the width of the lug 23 of Fig. 6.

The lower portions of the side walls II arev curved at 36 into the relatively fiat bottom 31, which is inclined somewhat upwardly toward its central portion 38.

The upper portion of the upper shell A is also curved inwardly as indicated at 49, and forms a dome 4I which at the top thereof is provided with the eyelet 42 through which the yarn passes upon being removed from the ball D. The eyelet 42 has a rounded inner face 44 which is of somewhat greater depth than thickness of the dome 4I of the shell so as to oier substantial friction to the yarn as it is being unwound from the ball of.

yarn D.

Around the dome 4 I, extending from the curved portion up to adjacent the central eyelet 42, are the openings 45 which a-re almost circular as indicated at 46 in Fig. l adjacent the eyelet 42, but which become narrower and tapered as indicated at 4l and terminate at 48 (see Fig. l).

When the yarn is pulled upwardly suddenly and too great a force is expended upon it, tending to cause itv to unravel, the top of the ball of yarn will contact these 'openings and tend to be retarded in its movement with the result that the -feed of yarn will be slowed or substantially stopped.

On each side ofthe eyelet 42 and between two of the openings 45 are positioned the diametrically opposed eyelets 49, which receive the lower ends 50 of the suspension member E. The knots 5I at the lower ends of the suspension member 50 hold 'the suspension member E in position.

In forming the shells A and B, each of the shells is preferably molded in one piece, together with the lugs 23, the recesses 2| and the grooves 3| and together with the openings 39 and 45 which may be formed therein or cut in afterwards. The

suspension member E is attached to the uppershell A as a nal operation.

In operation, by grasping the assembled upper shell A and lower shell B of Fig. 2 with different hands, they may be turned in, opposite directions to remove the lugs 23A from the grooves 3| and over the latching ridges 33. When the backs 24 of the lugs 23 strike the walls 28, the lugs 23 may be withdrawn from the recesses 2|, permitting disengagement between theupper shell Aand the lower shell B. Then a ball of yarn D may be placed in position, or the ball of yarn' in position may bev replaced and its loose end may be inserted through the eyelet 42.

When the upper s hell is to be connected to the lower shell B, the lugs 23 are inserted into the recesses 2| and the lforward ends 25 of the lugs 23 are caused to engage in the ridges 3| adjacent their entrance 32. Then the upper shell A may be turned in respect to the lower shell B,

forcing the wedge shaped lugs 23 into the grooves 3| past the ridges 33. The wedge shape of the the resiliency of the side walls |0` and II,.wi1l form a tight connection which will not. become accidentally displaced even though the container may be carried and jiggled lor ma ,f bestruck against many objects in the coursef. usage.

The entire shells -A and B Aare preferably made so thin that they will have, suflicientresiliency to cause a rm locking together of the lugs 23 in the grooves 3| in the; positions indicated in Figs. 3 and 5. A,

In the alternative embodiment of Figs. 7 to 9, (similarly functioning parts-being indicated by the same letters and numerals` as in Figs. 1 to t. however, primed) the base B is provided with lugs 23, together souci three receptacles `Ill to receive three balls of `yarn D', which may be of diilercnt colors or different grades or character of yarns to enable the knitting of a multi-eiect or multi-colored pattern.

The bottom 31 of the base B is caused to have upwardly extending portions lll, which act to separate the various pockets' receiving the diiferent balls of yarn D'. Three `eyelets 42' are provided and through each of these eyelets a separate strand 43' from a ball o1' yarn D' may pass upwardly.

It is thus apparent that the applicant has provided a simple, inexpensive, readily transportable yarn carrier device which is of relatively thin construction, yet reinforced by thelocking' arrangement at C so that it may withstand constant handling and swinging.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from, the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A plastic molded yarn carrier comprising `one piece upper and lower hollow molded thin flexible transparent shell plastic members having a locking connection, a suspension member and .means to permit removal of an end of yarn through the upper portion of the container, said upper and lower shell-members telescoping together at said locking connection and said locking connection including -interiorly positioned slots on one shell and interiitting wedges on the other shell, said locking connection including `a plurality of obliquely upwardly extending grooves upon the inside edge of one of the thin shell members having an enlarged wide inlet-notch with a ridge crossing said groove and elongated wedge shaped engaging members to be forced intosaid grooves on the outside edge of the other shell member.

2. A plastic molded yarn carrier comprising one piece upper and lower hollow molded thin flexible transparent shell plastic members having a locking connection, a suspension member and means to permit removal of an end of yarn through the upper portion of ,the container, the lower portion of the container being provided with a central opening to center the ball of yarn, said upper and,lower shell members telescoping together at' said locking connection and said locking connection including interiorly positioned slots on one shell and intertting wedges on the other shell, said locking connection including a plurality of obliquely upwardly extending grooves upon the inside edge of one of the thin shell members having an enlarged wide inlet notch with a ridgercrossing said groove and elongated wedge shaped engaging members to be forced into said grooves on )the outside .edge

- of the other shell member.

3. A plastic molded yarn carrier'comprising one piece upper and lower hollow molded thin flexible transparent shell plastic members having a locking connection, a member and means .to permit removal ot :an end of yarn `through the upper portion of the container, the upper portion of the container being provided with spaced openings to frictionally retard uncrossing said groove and elongated wedge shaped engaging members to be forced into said'grooves on the outside edge of the other shell member.

4. A plastic molded yarn carrier comprising one piece upper and lower hollow molded thin flexible transparent shell plastic members having y a locking connection, a suspension member and means .to permit removal of an end of yarn through the upper portion of the container, the top of the container being provided with spaced eyelets, a central eyelet being provided for the egress of the yarn and outside eyelets being PrO- vided for the attachment ofthe suspension member, said upper and lower shell members telescoping together at said locking connection and said locking connection including interiorly positioned slots on one shell and interfitting wedges on the other shell, said locking connection including a plurality of obliquely upwardly extending grooves upon the inside ledge of one of the thin shell members having an enlarged wide inlet notch 'with a ridge crossing said groove and elongated wedge vshaped engaging members to be forced into said .grooves on the outside edge of the other shell member,

5. A plastic molded yarn carrier comprising one piece upper and lowerv hollow molded thin ilexible transparent shell plastic members having a locking connection, a suspension member and means to permit removal of an end of yarn through the upper portion of the container, the

connection of the shells being provided by a plurality of recesses and grooves extending obliquely upwardly from the recesses on one member and interlocking lugs on the other member, said shells having a plurality of reenforcing ridges adjacent saidlocking conneotion. v

6. A plastic molded yarn carrier comprising one piece upper and lower hollow molded thin flexible transparent shell plastic members having a locking connection, a suspension member and means to permit removal of an end of yarn through the upper portion of the container, the bottom of said carrier having a plurality of cup members to receive a plurality of balls of yarn and to keep them separated' from one another, said locking connection including a plurality of obliquely upwardly extending grooves upon the inside edge of one of the thin shell members having an enlarged wide inlet notch with a ridge crossing said groove and elongated wedge shaped engaging members to be forced into said grooves on the outside edge of the other 'shell member. e

JULIUS HOMMER. 

